The Progressive Scorecard

1) The income tax; the fact that until as late as 1939 only 3% of Americans paid it and now pretty much everybody (who isn't destitute) does.......2) Medicare/Medicaid; the fact that healthcare historically only represented about 5% of GDP and now with government constantly subsidizing it it's fast approaching 20%.......3) Higher Education; the fact that you could have gotten a Harvard, Penn, Cornell, Duke, Amherst, or Stanford education for under a thousand dollars a year in the 1950s and now because of government constantly subsidizing college tuition even a state school can put you into debt forever (never mind the problem of degree inflation).......4) The minimum wage law; the fact that as recently as 1948 the black teen unemployment rate was actually lower than that of white teens and now due to an increased minimum wage the black teen unemployment rate for males is approaching 90% in some cities.......5) Warfare; the fact that the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine War, World War 1, World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War (or at least our involvement in these wars) were ALL initiated by progressives (or their progenitors) and in each and every one of these wars this involvement WASN'T necessary and if anything it set the groundwork for future conflicts.......6) Segregation; the fact that it Woodrow Wilson who initially segregated the army and federal workforce and it was only then that the southern states followed.......7) Welfare; the fact that the poverty rate was steadily declining in this country and only stopped when the welfare state kicked in (that and illegitimacy went through the roof).......8) Affirmative action; the fact that thousands of young black people have been mismatched with numerous universities and flunked out (kids who would have graduated elsewhere)......9) The regulatory burden; the fact that regulations and the high cost of licensing disproportionately harm small businesses (the SBA claims that the cost is 40% higher for small firms) and reinforce market-share for the big fellows.......10) The eugenics movement; yep, that started with the progressives, too.......11) The Federal Reserve System; the fact that this entity has debased the currency, created numerous bubbles, and financed one shitty war after another.......Yeah, that's quite a legacy.